8216;Gilani picked to front tough course against Mush8217;

Pak Prime Minister-in-waiting has track record to hold together an unwieldy coalition as it moves to neutralize Musharraf.

Pakistan8217;s prime minister-in-waiting has the experience and track record to hold together an unwieldy coalition as it moves to neutralize President Pervez Musharraf, lawmakers and analysts said.

But Yousaf Raza Gilani also has a personal reason to ignore Musharraf8217;s appeals for cooperation: he spent years in jail under the beleaguered U.S.-backed leader.

Lawmakers choose Pakistan8217;s next prime minister in a vote in parliament on Monday. A pro-Musharraf party has nominated a die-hard supporter of the former army strongman. But Gilani is a shoo-in after opposition parties swept elections last month. Musharraf is expected to swear him in Tuesday.

8220;Mr. Gilani is a man who suffered from Musharraf8217;s martial law,8221; said Ahsan Iqbal, a lawmaker for one of four parties that agreed to form a new coalition government and are expected to elect him with a thumping majority. 8220;He understands well that getting rid of dictatorship is important.8221;

Gilani, a loyalist of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, will front an administration facing mounting economic problems, including double-digit inflation, power shortages and sagging foreign investment.

Western governments fearful of a resurgence of al-Qaida in Pakistan8217;s ungoverned border region urgently want to know what changes the government will make to Musharraf8217;s unpopular, military-led policies against Islamic extremism.

In a speech marking Pakistan8217;s national day on Sunday, Musharraf hailed the start of a 8220;new era of real democracy8221; in Pakistan and vowed to support the new Cabinet.

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8220;I hope the new government can maintain peace and the fast pace of socio-economic development in Pakistan,8221; Musharraf said at a parade of jets and missiles from Pakistan8217;s nuclear-capable arsenal.

8220;And I hope it will also continue our struggle against the curse of terrorism and extremism with the same force.8221;

However, the declared priority for the parties that won the Feb. 18 parliamentary vote is bolstering Pakistan8217;s return to democracy by capping Musharraf8217;s already diminished powers.

8220;All political forces have to work together to take the country out of this crisis,8221; Gilani said Sunday, vowing to restore the independence of Pakistan8217;s judges and media.

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Asked whether he would work with Musharraf or push him from office, he said only, 8220;I will follow the constitution.8221;

Observers say Gilani8217;s record in office and treatment at the hands of Musharraf make him a good pick to straddle the rivalry and ideological differences inside a coalition that includes Islamists and ethnic Pashtun nationalists, as well as the country8217;s main center-left and center-right parties.

Gilani, a 55-year-old from the Punjabi city of Multan, has a master8217;s degree in journalism but quickly followed his lawmaker father into politics. He was a minister in Bhutto8217;s 1988-1990 government and parliamentary speaker during her 1993-1996 term.

8220;He has also made sacrifices, which is a very major criteria within the People8217;s Party,8221; Talat Masood, a retired general and prominent policy analyst, said of Gilani.

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Shafqat Mahmood, a former politician turned newspaper commentator, said Pakistan8217;s political course was clouded by the fate of Musharraf, who can expect little relief from Gilani.

8220;Musharraf kept him in jail for five years so, just on the basis of human psychology, I can8217;t imagine him having any loving thoughts about Musharraf,8221; Mahmood said.